Nuclear Safety
French company Areva and EDF, has received confirmation from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) of concerns about the technology being used for the four reactors it wants to build across the country. And the Health and Safety Executive, which oversees the NII, said the design could be rejected for use in the UK if its concerns could not be addressed. Toshiba Westinghouse, owner of Springfields, is in the running to build the reactor for the UK’s new-build nuclear power station. But the Health and Safety Executive has not yet started examining the company’s designs because of safety concerns around the other firm’s proposals.
Blackpool Gazette 3rd July 2009 more >>
New Nukes
Less than 25 years after the Chernobyl disaster, the European nuclear industry is witnessing a remarkable revival. The energy policies of several governments have shifted substantially over the past few years, driven by concerns over energy security and climate change, and many European Union members are looking to the construction of new nuclear reactors as a way to solve these problems. France and Finland have been enthusiastic champions of nuclear power for some time and are leading the wave of new investment, with France’s Flamanville 3 and Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 plants due to start generating power in 2012.
FT 3rd July 2009 more >>
Wylfa
Anglesey Aluminium is offering 140 staff voluntary redundancy because a new power deal that gives them cheap electricity has not been reached. Staff who want to leave the plant at Holyhead, which currently employs 500, have already submitted their names and those accepted will be told on Friday.
BBC 2nd July 2009 more >>
Anglesey Aluminium appeared doomed last night after it rejected a £48 million rescue package.
Daily Post 2nd July 2009 more >>
Cumbria
The potential of nuclear power to create an engineering jobs boost in Cumbria has been highlighted by prime minister Gordon Brown. Speaking to the North West Evening Mail, Mr Brown issued his support for the county’s plans to develop an “energy coast”, which could help safeguard the country’s future energy needs. Every new nuclear reactor built in Cumbria would create 10,000 new positions – 9,000 would be construction jobs, while the rest would be operational roles.
Career Engineer 2nd July 2009 more >>
The next generation of nuclear power stations have been given the government go-ahead and west Cumbria is expected to be among the most important locations. But Tory leader David Cameron and his Liberal Democrat counterpart Nick Clegg have both declined to embrace nuclear energy. With a general election less than a year away, many in Cumbria will be nervous about the prospect of a new government removing nuclear from the equation and potentially taking thousands of jobs and millions of pounds from the county.
Carlisle News and Star 2nd July 2009 more >>
Sellafield
ALLEGATIONS that “bribery and blackmail” were used to coerce Sellafield workers into accepting a pay deal are to be heard at an industrial tribunal. Two unions – GMB and Unite – are bringing the case against Sellafield Ltd aimed at winning financial compensation for thousands of members on the site.
Whitehaven News 1st July 2009 more >>
BUILDING a new MoX plant at Sellafield would create thousands of jobs and £1bn of investment, the government was last night told. Copeland MP Jamie Reed told the House of Commons the plant could sit alongside the existing Sellafield MOX facility.
NW Evening Mail 2nd July 2009 more >>
Companies
Areva SA Chief Executive Officer Anne Lauvergeon said in an interview on Radio Classique today that the nuclear reactor company is open to financial investors, including sovereign funds. On June 30, Areva said it will sell about 15 percent of the company to strategic industrial partners as it looks to raise capital for expansion. The stake sale could raise about 3 billion euros ($4.2 billion), the executive said. The company will invest 10 billion euros on expansion in the next two years, she said.
Bloomberg 2nd July 2009 more >>
Finland
The recriminations over just who is to blame for the world’s largest prototype reactor being massively over budget and over schedule, which doubts over its design and construction, have begun. Areva are now engaged in a very public and childish game of he-said-she-said with the reactor’s owners, Finnish utility TVO and nuclear safety agency, STUK.
Nuclear Reactions 2nd July 2009 more >>
Yahoo 1st July 2009 more >>
The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority Finland (STUK) has asked Teollisuuden Voima Oyj for further clarification of the overall design of automation systems for the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant by 31 July 2009. This request for further clarification is related to the decision made in summer last year by STUK, in which it demanded that TVO revise the architecture of the plant’s automation systems.
STUK Press Release 2nd July 2009 more >>
France
France is being forced to import electricity from Britain to cope with a summer heatwave that has helped to put a third of its nuclear power stations out of action. With temperatures across much of France surging above 30C this week, EDF’s reactors are generating the lowest level of electricity in six years, forcing the state-owned utility to turn to Britain for additional capacity. Fourteen of France’s 19 nuclear power stations are located inland and use river water rather than seawater for cooling. When water temperatures rise, EDF is forced to shut down the reactors to prevent their casings from exceeding 50C.
Times 3rd July 2009 more >>
US
For U.S. utilities gearing up to build new nuclear-power plants, the rewards could be great, but the risks of cost overruns, delays and regulatory battles persist.
CNN 1st July 2009 more >>
IAEA
Japan, the only nation to suffer atomic bombings, welcomed the appointment of one of its own to lead the world’s top nuclear watchdog. The mayor of Hiroshima, the southwestern city that suffered the first nuclear attack in 1945, was among those offering congratulatory messages Friday. The 35-nation International Atomic Energy Agency chose Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano, 62, as its next head in Vienna on Thursday, the first time a Japanese was chosen for the job.
AP 3rd July 2009 more >>
Channel 4 News 3rd July 2009 more >>
FT 3rd July 2009 more >>
BBC 2nd July 2009 more >>
GNEP
Earlier this week, the administration of President Barack Obama quietly cancelled plans for a large-scale facility to recycle nuclear fuel. The move may prove a fatal blow to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) set up by previous president George W. Bush. Nature News looks at the decision, what it means for US nuclear policy, and where a long-hoped-for nuclear renaissance may be headed.
Nature 2nd July 2009 more >>
Iran
Is the threat of Iran getting a nuclear weapon so great that Israel should contemplate military action? And should the US encourage it in that? These aren’t questions that Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, appears to have answered for himself, for all his preoccupation with them. Nor does President Obama. It’s a wretched dilemma, set to get worse as Iran’s nuclear programme advances, and the regime gets closer to having enough enriched uranium to make a warhead even as it continues to deny that aim.
Times 3rd July 2009 more >>
Spain
Spain said on Thursday its oldest nuclear power station could stay open for another four years in the Socialist government’s first test of its electoral pledge to phase out nuclear energy.
Guardian 2nd July 2009 more >>
Interactive Investor 2nd July 2009 more >>
FT 3rd July 2009 more >>
